Pain in the Brain
by 13thsense
Summary: The mother duck is sick, the baby ducks need some sitters and might just put the penguins out of business trying to entertain themselves. Meanwhile, a water monitor will try to resolve some of his personal problems.
1. Life's a Pain

**1 – Life's a Pain**

**Okay, so I don't know what got over me, but I really wanted to write, story ideas keep on popping up in my head in the most inconvenient moments. So here are some heads up, the update times are going to be random. Also, this story takes place after the events of "Unleashed" and before "Skulls and Bones". I wanted to connect the two. So here it is and enjoy!**

There was a disgusting stench of burnt flesh in the air and bone dust severely deprived one of his sight. The rays of light were revealed as they hit the microscopic particles in the air. They traveled in straight lines down from the lamp and illuminated a black water monitor underneath. His eyes were widened and his pupils barely visible. He was panting heavily, indulging his body in the precious oxygen as if he had just risen from the dead. He stayed like that for half an hour before finally mustering up the willpower to stand up. It took all four of his limbs to pull himself out of the depths of the chair.

He remained there in front of the mirror, his forelegs braced against the table. His eyes wandered slightly to his left, where he spotted two small chunks of pink flesh, once part of his brain. The scent of his own flesh was being picked up by his forked tongue and carried into his Jacobson's organ. Eating it would return valuable nutrients, but somehow he couldn't make himself do it. The mere thought of that once being part of a living creature, even if it was himself, awoke something inside of him, an unsettling feeling in his stomach.

He slowly extended his claw, his throbbing head robbing him of his surgical steadiness, and picked up the pieces. He threw them into the bottle of disinfectant before seizing a lighter. The beautiful orange flame, erupting from the small metallic device, was almost magic. "Goodbye, old life," he said in an icy cold whisper.

* * *

><p><strong>3 weeks later<strong>

In the penguin habitat, the quartet was just finishing up their morning training. "…And jazz hands!" was the last command Skipper gave. He looked to his left and saw Rico and Kowalski standing still, while Private had his flippers extended in front of him and a wide smile on his face. The lead penguin groaned, "Rico!" he called and the Mohawk wielding bird delivered a slap to his younger teammate.

"Ouch!" squawked Private as he rubbed the sore spot. "What was that for?" he asked.

"That last command was a test. We don't have hands and even if we did, we'd never have something like that in our routine."

"Oh, um, sorry… now what?"

"Kowalski, what's on the agenda?"

The lieutenant pulled out his trusty clipboard and quickly delivered the requested information. "According to the generic symbols on this sheet of cellulose, it's Sunday, which means the zoo's closed," he replied.

"Excellent," the captain said rubbing his flippers together, "I want us to use the day as efficiently as possible, so what do you suggest?"

"I propose a quick recon, followed by the usual resolving of minor problems and finally handing in the mission reports. That done, we'd still have enough time to peacefully enjoy the Sunday afternoon."

Rico laughed and clapped his flippers in response.

"Looks like Rico agrees, so that's more than half of us. Motion carried," Skipper said.

"Maybe we could go and visit Alexander as well," suggested Private, but was met with dead silence from his teammates. "Or… not," me muttered to himself.

Skipper walked over to his side and placed a comforting flipper on the young soldier's shoulder, "Look, he'll come out when he figures things out. It's not something we can rush. I can't imagine what it's like to have that kind of burden on your shoulders, all those lives…"

Private averted his look, while trying to keep the memories from surfacing. "Skippah…" he began, and got his leader's attention, "Do you think we could get snowcones later?" he asked with a smile.

The leader smirked and shook his head, "Sure," he replied.

* * *

><p><strong>A few hours later<strong>

In the Central park, a familiar family of a single mother and 4 ducklings was enjoying a beautiful day by the water. The yellow balls of fluff, racing across the surface of the water, were so adorable. With their bright orange beaks and big black eyes, they could fool even the most paranoid observer.

"You're it!" yelled Samuel as he dunked his brother underwater. It resulted in a burst of laughter from the others as they began chasing each other. They weren't so innocent and cute as one might think.

Mother duck just smiled as she watched them from the shore. She couldn't help but be concerned as a mother always is. If it were up to her, she would just wrap each one of her hatchlings up in bubble wrap and carry them around on her back, but she couldn't, they would all still grow up and eventually head out into the world. She couldn't watch over them forever.

A sharp pain struck the mother duck in her abdomen. She forced her beak shut so as to not alert her children. She felt her balance dwindling away, but managed to catch herself, by repositioning her foot. Her quick movements, however, didn't remain unnoticed.

Eggy swam to the shore, with a concerned look in his eyes, "Mother, is something being the matter?" the remaining ducklings joined his side, sporting similar expressions.

"Why no," she replied with the best fake smile she could muster up, "Whatever makes you think th-AAAH!" she screamed and clutched her stomach.

"Mommy!" the ducklings screamed in fear as they jumped out of the water and hugged their mother.

The duck looked down at the sight of her children embracing her. They were her gems, she couldn't risk it any further. A bird may be able to hide injuries for a very long time, but she already passed her limits, she couldn't risk leaving her children alone. Whatever was wrong with her had been bothering her for over a week now and it wasn't something she could just walk off.

"Babies…" she began, panting due to the pain, "go get Mr. Private… momma needs help," she managed to say, before falling over.

As fate would have it, on their way towards the snowcone vendor, a rookery of four penguins slid over a nearby hill. Skipper immediately noticed that something was wrong with the family of ducks, "Change of plans, men," he said and changed his course. His team followed without a word, the snowcones could wait, after all.

"Kowalski, analysis!" Skipper ordered.

Private moved the ducklings aside to make room for the scientist.

"Just as I expected," he said after a minute, "Learning medical books by heart won't do you any good if you don't have the field praxis to support that knowledge."

Skipper rolled his eyes, "Great, so what now?"

"I believe the answer is quite obvious."

The leader sighed, "Fine; Rico, grab Momma; Private, watch the kids; Kowalski, you're coming with me, someone's about to get a premature end to his vacation."

**What can you expect from this fic? A little romance, a little killing, no genocide and a lot of humor. Does anybody have a name suggestion for Mother duck? I don't want to keep on calling her that. Hope you liked it so far and review!**


	2. Paging Dr Alexander

**2 – Paging Dr. Alexander**

**Thank you for the reviews and enjoy!**

Skipper and Kowalski pushed open the door of the reptile house. Rico had followed them for some time, but couldn't keep up with his sliding teammates, not with the mother duck on his back. The captain and his lieutenant headed directly towards the water monitor exhibit.

The large glass pane enclosing the wanted reptile's habitat was all that stood between them and the owner of the terrarium; it was designed to mimic the African rainforest, with some small shrubs, a leaf covered floor and a small murky pool. Underneath a heating lamp, lying completely still was the water monitor. He had his back turned towards the glass so he couldn't see the penguin duo arrive.

Kowalski quickly began punching in the numeric code to open the enclosure. The beeps he produced reached the tympanic membrane of the water monitor. Skipper knew he was aware of their presence when his head jerked up. However, what he did next surprised both him and Kowalski.

Alexander jumped up and pressed himself against the wall, with his front claws on the back of his head. Skipper raised an eyebrow at his behavior while Kowalski finished with the code. The glass dropped and the bird duo could enter.

Skipper slowly waddled towards the water monitor and extended his flipper. "I swear I only thought about escaping for a second, two at the most. I won't do it again, please, I won't, I promise," spoke Alexander, panic radiating from his voice.

The lead bird threw his lieutenant a quizzical look. Kowalski pulled his clipboard from behind his back, "Posttraumatic shock, perhaps?"

Skipper turned back to the reptile he slowly placed a flipper on his shoulder, an action which made him flinch. "Calm down, soldier, turn around so we can see your face," he ordered.

Alexander did it slowly. He began shaking more fiercely as more of his underbelly was facing the penguins. He kept his claws behind his head and gulped, fearing what might happen.

The captain looked him over; he looked the same, but when he reached the lizard's eyes, he could see fear in them, "What happened to you?"

The medic took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down and slowly spoke, "What happened to me? Nothing, I'm what happened to everyone else," his claws slowly moved forward to clutch his head. "The echo of their screams just won't go away. It keeps bouncing inside my head. I haven't slept in weeks because I just keep on having reruns of what I… what I…" He grabbed his mouth and turned around.

Both the penguins cringed as they watched him empty his stomach on the ground. He started wobbling around so they rushed to his side and gave him some support, "Hey… HEY! Pull yourself together. Don't go passing out on us, you're needed."

He pulled himself out of the hold and stumbled to a wall. He pressed his back against it taking a defensive pose. "NO, I won't, never, I can't," he yelled. "Stay back, please, you aren't safe with me," he added and lifted one of his front legs.

Skipper squinted, to take a better look at the appendage, "What have you been doing to yourself?"

"I filed down my claws, they only hurt others."

Kowalski stepped forward, "Alexander, please calm down. We require your medical skills. You see, mother duck has fallen ill and she needs immediate medical attention."

The water monitor looked down at his front legs, "I can't, these hands, they can't save lives, they can only take them."

Skipper was sick and tired of it all; he stepped forward and gave the lizard a hard slap across the face. It sent him to the ground, holding his cheek, "Enough fooling around, if you don't save momma duck, we'll be looking at four orphans on our flippers. Do you really want to be the one tellin' them that mom's never coming back?"

The moment those words reached the reptile, he felt like time had stopped. The weight of all his actions, up until now, seemed to have been lifted of his shoulders for just a second, but it was enough for his brain to decide what his next actions would be.

He picked himself up, holding his sore cheek, and looked at Skipper. He struggled trying to hide the fear in his eyes and voice, "I'll do my best."

The door of the reptile house swung open and Rico, carrying the mother duck, waddled in. Kowalski rushed to his side and took the female bird off his back. That done, the Mohawk-wielding bird collapsed and desperately tried to regain his breath.

Alexander pushed in a portion of the wall in his habitat and revealed the staircase to the lower level. Skipper followed him down, while Kowalski did his best to catch up.

The water monitor flipped a switch and illuminated the rooms. As he walked down the short hallway, he left visible prints on the dust covered floor.

"It wouldn't kill you if you'd clean up from time to time," remarked Skipper.

"I know, but… I haven't been down here ever since that day… I didn't feel like it deserved this place… I just wanted to finish my sentence," Alexander replied, when he reached the infirmary.

Most of the equipment inside was covered with white blankets, which the medic pulled off. He gently brushed his rough scales against the cold steel of the medical table. Skipper watched him from the entrance with his flippers crossed over his chest.

Kowalski's panting could soon be heard coming ever closer, "Next time… you don't make… the brains… do… the muscle's… work…" he said between pants.

The lead penguin took the duck off his back and carried her over to the table, where he laid her down. He watched Alexander as he hesitantly approached her. He was shaking all over and he probably would've sweated as well, had he the pores to do so. "What's the matter, you look like it's your first day on the job. Pull yourself together and get on with it already," he ordered.

The lizard swallowed a lump in his throat before speaking, "H-hello, how a-are we today? I mean, my n-name is Doctor Alexander and I'll b-be your… doctor. Um, what's your n-name?"

Skipper slapped his forehead watching the scenario unfold.

The female bird slowly turned towards him, "Ma-Marilynn" she answered.

"Well… that's a lovely name. Now Marilynn, c-could you p-please tell me what's wrong?"

"My stomach, it hurts."

He looked at her abdomen, "Um, could you tell me exactly where. I would touch you myself, but I don't want to cause you any more suffering." The female duck responded by placing her wing over an area on her abdomen. "Aha, I see… well I don't see anything so it's probably something on the inside."

Now it was Kowalski's turn to slap his forehead. "I'm certain that Hippocrates has just turned over in his grave."

"What to do? What to do?" the lizard asked himself while scratching his head. "I have to take a look inside of you… but I don't want to expose you to any x-rays… uh did you eat anything funny?" he tried.

"Give me something for the pain already!" she yelled. In his surprise, Alexander jumped back.

"Right, pain," he ran over to a cupboard stacked with morphine ampoules and grabbed a bottle of valium. "Here, take this," he gave the mother a pill, which she quickly swallowed. A few seconds later, her eyes fluttered shut and she fell asleep. "On second thought, I should have given you something that doesn't cause drowsiness."

"Alexander, can I have a word with you?" asked Skipper.

"Uh, probably," He managed to answer before being spun around and caught in a full nelson by the lead penguin.

"KOWALSKI, NOW!"

The scientist pulled a squirt gun from behind his back. He doused the water monitor in a stream of yellowish liquid. Once the container was empty, Skipper let go, "Okay, you're clear."

Alexander wiped his eyes, "What was that?"

"It's just a concoction I came up with. It's a mixture of different esters, some tartar sauce and butter. It reveals Danes, space squids and lobsters, hiding in our midst."

"…I don't get why it reveals Danes," replied the reptile.

"Swedish candy is known to be less sweet and more fruity. Esters are what give fruit its aroma. And Sweden is an enemy of Denmark," explained Kowalski.

"Exactly, and like they say, the enemy of my enemy is just an enemy I can be friendly with until he turns against us," added the captain.

"Oh, okay."

There was a short silence, which Kowalski broke, "What are your current speculations on what is causing Marilynn's symptoms?"

The monitor turned around and looked at the sleeping duck, "She seems a little overweight."

Skipper face palmed while Alexander stepped closer to her. He felt the duck's abdomen, "I didn't want to say it to her before because I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Kowalski, come over here and feel this."

The scientist did as told, "Odd, I wouldn't think of mother duck as someone who would work on their abdominal muscles."

"That's because she doesn't. Marilynn has an evil thing called egg binding," the medic's head dropped, "It's always the good animals that get sick… It's just not fair. *Sigh* I'll give her a calcium sho- no… I'll start her on a calcium rich diet as soon as she gets up." He then placed his claw on one of her wings, "Don't worry girl, you'll pull through," he whispered.

Skipper exchanged glances with his lieutenant who just shrugged. "Well, it's nice to hear some good news. So, now that you have your… whatever back, or not, are you ready to start training again?"

Alexander looked at the lead penguin with fear in his eyes once again, "No, I can't, one life doesn't make up for all those I took. I'll stay here, at least this way I can't hurt anyone."

"You can't make up for wrongs by lying around underneath a heating lamp. You'll have to get out there and work for it."

"B-but… I don't even know where to start."

Kowalski began listing through some notes, "Stray cats have taken care of the pigeon genocide victims and the new rats have cleaned up after the old ones. My suggestion, therefore, is-"

Skipper cut him off, "Now I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to romance, but I'm pretty sure it would be best to start with a special somebody that's been crying her soul out for the last 3 weeks."

"Thank you, sir," he saluted and then ran out of the infirmary.

**I got the inspiration for Mother Duck's name from Princess Bubblegum11's review, thank you.  
>Also, "Egg binding" is an actual disease caused by calcium deficiency.<br>So yeah, could I make him any more OOC? Just wait to find out.  
>Hope you liked it so far and review.<strong>


	3. A Little Too Late

**3 – A Little Too Late**

**I probably should answer some of those reviews.**

**AlwaysRemainMe: **Skipper was the last one to talk to Alexander before he left.

**Princess Bubblegum11: **He removed his Amygdalas, which are the emotional centers of the brain. I actually looked this part up. My knowledge on the brain is limited so I can't say that I'm absolutely sure it's correct. In his words; he would remove the old faulty ones and then re-grow them.

**Thank you for taking the time to review and enjoy!**

Skipper watched the water monitor leave the room. A warm feeling in his stomach gave him a sense of satisfaction. "Well, there goes my good deed for the day," he said out loud.

Kowalski didn't want to ruin his leader's good mood, but he felt the urge to inform him, "Skipper, I do not wish to burst your bubble, as one might say, but I believe you haven't accounted for a very important variable while giving your advice."

The lead penguin turned to his scientist, "No, I always consider the possibility of a space squid and/or Dane invasion."

"Yes I know, but that is not what I was referring to."

"Then what is it?" Skipper asked slightly annoyed.

"Right now, Marlene is hosting a small get-together."

The lead bird couldn't quite piece together what his lieutenant was trying to say, however, he was sure he would explain matters further.

"Sir, you just threw our psychological wreck of a combat medic to a pack of estrogen fueled females that will without a doubt rip him to shreds trying to protect one of their own."

Time seemed to slow down right then. Be it from shock or the vast amounts of adrenaline being released into the blood stream to prepare one for an upcoming crisis. "A soldier has been sent on a suicide mission. We have to stop him. Let's go!" ordered Skipper and slid out of the room hot on the trail of their reptile friend.

Alexander stepped out into the open. The sun bathed his dark scales in its ultraviolet radiation. The artificial light of his heating light was nothing compared to this. He couldn't enjoy it, though; there were amends to be made. He dropped on all fours and slowly marched towards the otter habitat. It was the logical assumption on Iris' location. But what would he say; would he be able to express his newfound emotions in mere words?

As he passed the walls of the lemur habitat, he caught sight of the Asian otter enclosure. He could hear music emanating from it and saw movement on the grass on top of the cave. There was Sienna, the badgers, Marlene, who hosted the entire thing, and lastly, Iris. The raven was currently engaged in a conversation with the red Rhodesian slasher.

The water monitor took a few deep breaths, but their effect was the exact opposite of what he had hoped to achieve. It didn't calm him down, instead, he only got more and more nervous. The anxiety grew with time and transformed into fear. His entire body began trembling, "Come on, snap out of it. There are worse things out there to be afraid of… like death or… a situation exactly… like… this one." He buried his face in his hands when the orders of a familiar Antarctic bird reached him.

"Pin him down before he tries to make a break for it!" Rico and Kowalski rushed past their leader and each grabbed Alexander by a foreleg. "Don't take this personally it's for your own best interests."

"Don't bother, I can't work up the courage to go, anyway," replied the lizard.

Skipper felt like he was listening to a complete stranger. This guy was basically the exact opposite of the water monitor they released that fateful night. He thought long and hard about what he would say next and he managed to compress it all into just six words, "Rico, slap some sense into him!"

The Mohawk wielding bird was happy to oblige and grabbed the reptile by the scales on his neck before proceeding to the fun part. He just slapped away at a steady pace, waiting for someone to stop him. After a while he began humming something to himself and after a minute or so, "Okay, I think that's enough," Skipper said.

Upon being released, he collapsed to the ground with a small trail of blood running from his nostrils. "Why must everyone resort to violence when their vocabulary reaches an end?" he asked as he slowly began lifting himself.

"I… to be honest I don't know," replied Skipper, "But it usually gets the job done so what the heck."

Kowalski helped the reptile up, "I understand your pain. How long have I longed for the affection of that special cetacean, only to be turned down again and again… and again…" He shook his head a few times before perking up again, "But, I believe it is my turn to give you the very advice that filled my veins with confidence that glorious night. YOU are the alpha male, my reptilian friend, if she doesn't want you, it's her loss, not yours."

The lizard let out a sigh, "There are a few hundred billion females on this planet, counting only the vertebrates, do you really think there's a universal approach for all of them. That was just pep talk that worked so well for you because you were experiencing a placebo effect at the time as well… I didn't mean to insult you by that or anything."

The scientist pulled out his clipboard and furiously began scribbling something on a sheet of paper, "By… some scientist who studied love, that's brilliant! I shall find this 'universal approach' and use it for myself. TO THE LAB!" the tallest penguin slid off and soon disappeared from sight.

Skipper let out a sigh, "Rico, please go and stop him, willya." The Mohawk wielding bird went into pursuit. The lead bird then turned back to the medic who was rubbing his jaw. "So, what are you gonna do now?" he asked.

"There really isn't much I can do. I wasted enough time as it is. I should've run after her and begged for her forgiveness the moment she left."

"How bad was the breakup?"

"It wasn't a real breakup, I just drove her away," Alexander said and let his gaze drop.

"You might want to find a better time for forgiveness. You'll be eaten alive if you go there now."

"At least it'll happen trying to do some good."

* * *

><p>"Anyway, it's good to have you away from that pillow of yours. I was begging to think there was something between the two of you," taunted the wildcat.<p>

"Right, I can do better than a pillow," replied the raven with a smirk before the two of them broke into laughter.

Marlene walked over to the duo holding a tray of cocktail glasses, "Margaritas, anyone?" she offered.

"Gracias," Sienna thanked and picked one up as did the raven. Their hostess took the last one and raised into the air.

Becky and Stacy joined them with drinks of their own as Marlene proposed a toast, "To team double X, the greatest team of girls on Manhattan."

Then suddenly, the music stopped. Iris noticed how all her friends scowled at something. "What is it?" she asked. The wildcat dashed past her, spinning the ebony bird on the spot. Luckily, Becky caught her before she fell over. Iris looked up and saw the bright orange feline in front of a black background. She raised herself out of the badger's hold and made a few steps forward while cradling one of her wings in the other.

"You have no right of being here so get out!" Sienna snarled at the water monitor and poked his chest.

Alexander winced and looked down. He saw the growing crimson half-orb, "I came here bearing no arms, only to talk, and yet you drew first blood."

"And I promise a lot more if you don't get the heck-"

"SIENNA!"

The wildcat stopped hearing the raven's voice. She slowly stepped aside but kept her angry scowl. Iris' expression, however, was one of sadness. She walked up to the water monitor at a steady pace. When she was halfway there, Alexander collapsed to his knees, like a prisoner awaiting torture.

She stopped only a foot away from him and crossed her wings on her chest. Her head was turned away; she didn't dare make eye contact.

"Iris I… out of all the mistakes I made… saying those words to you was my greatest."

"He probably practiced that one in front of a mirror," Stacy whispered to her sister.

"I promise… if you forgive me, I promise I'll do everything in my power to try and make things right."

Marlene scoffed, "Like that one's new."

Alexander looked at the raven hopefully, but she remained cold, "You're in pain. I understand, I feel it too, but it's a pain that gnaws me constantly. I can't make it go away myself, I-"

He was stopped by Iris' extending a wing, "Look… it's nice and all, but I've seen what you do when your single and I think you should just save your breath and leave."

The water monitor stood up, "Things change… I'm not the guy you used to know."

"I'll give you right on one part, things really do change."

He looked up into her eyes and could've sworn he saw a tear welling up. "I hope you didn't think I was going to spend the rest of my life buried in a pillow waiting for you. I had to move on." She turned around and wrapped her wings around her shoulders.

How the reptile wished he'd be the one to give her the warmth and comfort she needed right now, but he couldn't go against her wishes, it was time to leave.

"Yo babe, this guy giving you trouble?"

**I'm feeling a tad bit evil lately; I keep leaving you hanging off cliffs. Anyway, hope you liked it, etc. and review!**


	4. All the Small Changes

**4 – All the Small Changes**

**Thanks for the reviews, I needed the laughs. BTW, it's not girl's night, this thing's happening at around noon, sorry for the confusion. Also, I'll try not making this thing entirely OC-centered. So, here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

"Yo babe, this guy giving you trouble?" said a deep male voice.

Alexander slowly turned around and found himself centimeters away from a brown plumage. His gaze scaled the figure in front of him, passing its white neck ruff and gray skinned neck, finally reaching a yellow bill backed up by a pair of amber eyes.

"Gyps fulvus," mumbled the water monitor with his eyes widened to their limits. He slowly began backing away from the large gryphon vulture but tripped and fell on his behind. With some distance between him and the predator he could take in more of his appearance.

His entire plumage was a copper brown tone with the exception of his wing tips and tail, which were jet black. A collar of white ruff optically separated his bare gray neck from the rest of his body. It was supposed to be covered by fluff, but appeared shaven. Something was glimmering on the tip of his sharp yellow beak and if the reptile didn't know any better he'd say it was a screw. Around his right leg was a brown leather knife sheath with a black rubber handle sticking out of it.

"No it's okay, Vic, he just came for a visit," Iris said and walked forward to the side of the vulture. The raven only reached up to the base of his neck in height.

The lizard stood up and dusted himself off, he still carried an expression of pure shock as his eyes wandered over to Iris. "I see… I guess I should leave now," he said and silently walked away. The other females watched him leave and, in spite of everything that happened, couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy.

"O-kay," said Victor, "So, you wanna get out of here?"

The raven shrugged before replying half-heartedly, "Sure, why not."

The two birds turned around and the remaining quartet of girls cringed as the griffon vulture revealed the anatomic tattoo on the back of his neck. It was a picture of his spine running from his plumage to the base of the skull. The two flew off together, quickly disappearing once they got past the zoo walls.

"Iris sure knows how to pick 'em," commented Marlene.

"Like we did any better," replied the wildcat.

* * *

><p>Skipper waited for the medic around the corner. The lead penguin had been listening in on the conversation this entire time. When the water monitor appeared he sat down right next to his leader and let out a loud sigh. There was a short pause before the reptile spoke, "It's really weird. I only hooked up with her because <em>she<em> wanted a relationship… but now I'm sad. Could it be that she grew on me over time?"

The captain gave himself a mental facepalm, 'Like one love struck genius on the team wasn't enough, now I have two,' he thought. "Hey, I have an idea, why don't we go and use completely unnecessary force on some hippies we find," he suggested with a wide smile.

"No, I don't feel like fighting right now. I just want to endure the punishment of grief my body is vesting upon me."

"Um… sure," Skipper rubbed his bottom beak, trying to come up with a different activity, "Then why don't we go and drown our sorrows in some alcohol. It's past noon," he said slyly and gave the lizard a nudge.

"I don't want to have your liver paying for my mistakes," he slowly got up and headed towards the reptile house. "I'll join you at training in the morning," he added without turning around.

"Hoover dam," muttered Skipper and sighed. This turned out to be one heck of a Sunday; the afternoon was already well on its way and so far he didn't get the relaxation he would've wanted. But at least now it was all, "Aww, monkfish!" he cursed as he remembered where he had left his shortest teammate.

The lead penguin jumped on his belly and slid right out the zoo. "He's probably alright, I mean, how hard is it to look after four little ducklings?" he tried to calm himself down, but knew it was all a lie, those balls of fluff were anything but innocent. The pond soon came into view and with it, a black and white figure surrounded by four smaller yellow ones.

Skipper stopped and walked the rest of the path. As he came closer to the group, he could hear Private's voice, "…and then that old meany, Dr. Blowhole, tried to knock Skippah out with a…"

The captain's eyes widened and he closed the distance between him and his subordinate. He grabbed the younger penguin's beak and closed it to prevent the leakage of any more confidential information. "Private, those stories are classified. What were you thinking telling them to today's ductile youth?"

He let go of Private's beak so the penguin could speak again, "I was just trying to keep them entertained. At least they sit and listen, before, they were all over the place," he replied. "So, um, how's mommy duck doing?" he asked with a bright smile.

"She's, well… she's gonna be okay, but she's not coming home tonight," Skipper answered, not really sure how to tell news of such importance to the four ducklings.

"But who'll watch over us?"

"And who's going to make us breakfast?"

"I can't fall asleep without a bedtime story."

"When is momma coming home, mistah Skippah?" asked Eggy with the biggest puppy-dog eyes the he had ever seen. Petty tricks like these wouldn't work on a commando like himself. Nonetheless, the problem was still present; there were four ducklings, without any supervision, all on their own, in the middle of Central park zoo. It was his duty to take care of them, even if that meant playing nanny.

He let out a groan in annoyance, "I guess there's no other way… you'll have to stay over at the zoo while your mother recovers."

The four younglings jumped up and cheered simultaneously. Skipper swallowed a lump in his throat fearing what the future might hold for them.

After eight hours of nonstop chicksitting (I think I can call it that), the team had finally managed to put their guests to bed. Rico built two bunk beds for the quartet in just one hour, while Kowalski childproofed his lab, by putting a padlock on the door. They all sacrificed their Sunday afternoon to help out mother duck and in the end, they had a newfound appreciation for a what their own parents did for them.

Skipper decided to at least go and pay Marlene a visit. He was looking forward to spending some quality time together today but didn't account for… well, this.

* * *

><p>"It was horrible, Marlene," he complained sitting on the otter's bed, "They were like a pack of miniature robot roadrunners with batteries that just refused to die."<p>

Marlene wrapped her forepaws around one of Skipper's flipper and nuzzled his neck, "It couldn't have been that hard for you because I know you'll make a great daddy one day."

"I'm sure we both will," he replied and gave her a peck on the cheek. He got up and stretched, releasing a bunch of cracking sounds, "I already sound like one," he joked and rubbed his sore shoulder.

"You know, there is this thing to relieve some pressure," suggested the otter.

Skipper's heart skipped a beat, but a quick mental slap cleansed his mind of any dirty thoughts, "Oh, um, right. Well, if you really want to do it, I'd appreciate it very much."

Marlene stood up while the penguin took her place on the bed, lying down on his stomach. He closed his eyes and prepared himself. "Actually, it's not a massage," she added.

Skipper's eyes shot open and he had to give himself a real mental beat down. 'Okay, everything's okay, I'm sure she doesn't mean…'

"You'll have to lie on your back for it."

'SCORE! *Slap* I mean, don't act to eager,' he slowly turned around, feeling his blood pressure rising, "Um, whenever you're ready, M-Marlene."

"Okay, but I have to warn you, I've never done this before," she told him shyly.

Utilizing every technique he ever learned, he managed to bring down his racing heart to a normal level. "Oh, so it's going to be your *gulp* first time," the last part came out squeakier than he'd wanted; Marlene nodded. "Okay… like I said… whenever you're ready," he reassured her once again.

"Thanks for trusting me. Now close your eyes, I don't want you making me nervous," she said with a playful smile. Skipper returned the gesture and did as told. He listened to her gentle paws as they created a barely audible sound when touching the cold stone floor. The sound was getting louder and louder and Skipper mentally pictured her current position in the cave.

There was a slight thud right next to him but he wasn't quite sure what it was. He knew Marlene was right there next to it so he just waited… and waited… and waited, until he got this really annoying itch on his stomach. He wanted to scratch it, but was stopped by Marlene, "Hey, don't move, this is hard enough as it is."

'What do you mean, _hard_, you haven't even started yet,' he thought. Growing impatient he decided to take a peak. He slowly opened an eye and saw what was really going on.

Marlene was sticking a needle into his abdomen, adding to the already existing forest; needle upon needle, stretching across the white part of his plumage. It was the stuff of nightmares for the captain.

Marlene synched her paws with her boyfriend's rising chest, when it suddenly just stopped. "Skipper?" she asked, slightly confused. There was no response, "Skipper!" she called once more and pressed a paw on his carotid artery; no pulse. "SKIPPER!" she called again and began giving chest compressions, "Come on, WAKE UP!"

With a loud gasp, Skipper rose from the dead and jumped out of bed, "Marlene, I had the worst dream. I," he stopped and slowly looked down. His pupils shrank and he stretched out his flipper. He focused his gaze straight ahead and stood completely still, "Marlene, I'm not moving until each and every one of these evil things is removed," he duly said.

"It's just acupuncture. Where I come from, it's been used for all sorts of treatments and…"

"…Marlene, I'm not moving…" he began repeating the exact sentence he said before. The otter just shook her head.

"Alright you, big baby, calm down and I'll get right to it," she said smiling.

**So that's the end of this chapter. Hope you liked it and review!**

**Here's a philosophical question if anyone wants to give me their opinion on it: "Is amicicide possible?"  
>'Amicicide' is composed of the Latin words 'Amicus', which means friend, and 'Occidere', which means die. It is the murder of a friend, but the definition itself becomes the problem. If you kill a friend, was he really your friend when you committed the act? Doesn't that make it just another homicide? Also, i'm not referring to euthanasia here.<strong>**  
><strong>


	5. Linkin' Chapter

**5 – Linkin' Chapter**

**Thank you for your reviews on the last chapter. All those who commented have certainly opened my horizons. I do see the other possibilities now and for that I thank you. I can't just come up with questions like this but rest assured, I will post more if they cross my mind.**

**What else… in the first chapter I wrote Eggy's only line with Julien's accent in mind, but because I really, really hate it, I'll continue with the British instead. Sorry for the mistake, hope you can forgive me and enjoy the chapter.**

The next morning…

"… and uppercut!" Skipper gave the final command and another session of their morning training was finished. "Excellent work men, except you, Alexander, your response time was slightly off."

"1,24 seconds, to be precise," added Kowalski.

"I'm sorry," replied the lizard, "I promise I'll do better next time."

"…That's it? No 'I just went through a breakup', no 'I've been doing nothing but sleeping and eating for the last few weeks'?" Skipper asked slightly surprised.

"No, everything you just listed was my own fault. I don't have the right to make excuses. All I can do is try and do my best in making up."

The lead bird rubbed his bottom beak, "Hmm, not exactly what I'd expect, but I like your mentality. You boys could learn something from him. Anyway, what's on today's agenda?" he asked.

"According to this timetable," began Kowalski, "8.30 to 9.00 is waiting for our guests to wake up and prepare breakfast for them."

"Excellent, Private, you're on upchuck duty. I don't want those kids getting high on the caffeine from my morning coffee."

"You want to just go and throw up?" the smallest bird asked.

"Don't forget feeding it to the ducklings," Kowalski added to clarify matters.

"That doesn't sound very, um, nutritional… or healthy," Private replied.

"What are you talking about, it's what all of Antarctica's mom's do to make their kids grow big and strong. Hasn't anyone told you that?"

Kowalski pulled out his clipboard, "Well it _is_ supposed to be a natural instinct amongst penguins. My theory is that Private simply hasn't been near a penguin hatchling needed to activate it."

"What about the time Skippah was younger?"

"Um… he wasn't hungry?" the scientist guessed.

"In any, case, I promise I would've slapped you if you tried. Now let's go feed the kids. Operation: Break the fast, is a go!" ordered their leader and kicked away the fishbowl. Upon doing so, an eruption of black smoke burst out of the circular entrance.

The team stood and watched for a few seconds. "Skipper, I assure you that I made sure my Bunsen burner was turned off this time around when I left the lab," Kowalski said.

"Then it can only be one other thing… hippies are smoking inside our HQ!" panicked the captain. "We have to stop them. Men, commence operation: No Way am I letting Hippies Smoke in Our Joint!"

Rico regurgitated several blunt weapons, which were caught by everyone except Alexander, who got a bowling pin to the head. "Attack!" cried Skipper and jumped down the fishbowl entrance. Once the penguins passed through the layer of black smoke and entered their battle stances, they found no signs of hippies. However, there were four ducklings sitting in front of Private's toy kitchen set, which had smoke escaping from the edges of the oven door.

"How much longer? You said they'd be done by now," whined Ramona.

"The recipe said 15 to 20 minutes so they should be done right about…" Bradley waited for a beep that wouldn't come.

Skipper turned to his weapons expert, "Rico, I need something to put out the fire." The maniac nodded frantically then regurgitated a stick of dynamite.

"Of course, the explosion will use up all the available oxygen and extinguish the flames in the process. That's brilliant!" praised the scientist.

"Uh... yeah!" the Mohawk wielding bird nervously replied.

"But won't the explosion cause even more damage," Private uneasily asked.

"The kid may have a point," Skipper rubbed his bottom beak, "What we need is a safer approach. Like a fire extinguisher. Just like the one Eggy's using right now," he said pointing at the aforementioned duckling, who was just in the process of using the firefighting apparatus on the insides of the toy oven.

"There, that should do it," the duckling threw away the fire extinguisher and turned to his brother, "Sorry, for ruining your cupcakes, but things were getting a little bit… charry."

"Any longer and we would've had diamonds," added Samuel.

"Hmm, looks like that problem took care of itself," commented Private and waddled over to the yellow fluff ball, "Hey, I have a suggestion, why don't we all go over to the food court and have a ourselves a real British breakfast. Who's with me?" The four hatchlings began jumping around the youngest penguin before leaving the HQ together.

Skipper smirked at Private's people skills, "That kid sure knows how to pick the right words," but the smile soon faded when he realized the state the HQ was in. It looked like a war had just taken place moments ago.

"Looks like we've got some cleaning up to do."

The lead bird turned around and saw the water monitor standing there, "Where have you been?

"On the floe, trying to reduce the swelling," he replied, grabbing the side of his head.

"Skipper, I believe we have a problem at our flippers."

"I know, the zoo opens in 15 minutes and cleaning day isn't scheduled for another 2 days. What if commissioner McSlay comes in for a surprise inspection?"

"Actually I was referring to how the cupcakes could possibly get burned in a toy oven, but you're probably right, we should take care of the cleanup first," said Kowalski.

Skipper punched Rico in the gut, which caused him to spit out a stopwatch, "On my mark… and… GO!" he ordered and the cleanup was on its way.

* * *

><p>On a tree branch on the edge of the Central Park, Iris and Victor, the griffon vulture, were watching the traffic. Victor was full of excitement as a cat neared the edge of the sidewalk, "Come on… I want breakfast," he spoke with saliva escaping his beak.<p>

The raven, however, was avoiding her gaze from the street while trying to make it as inconspicuous as possible. She rolled her eyes, "Doesn't your owner feed you?"

"Hey, I just live with the guy… for free. Besides, all I get to eat comes directly out of the refrigerator. I need my meat warm from time to time," he turned his attention back to the road and just caught the feline safely stepping onto the opposite sidewalk. Victor groaned, "Looks like I'm having ice today. Anyway, I gotta get back before the landlord wakes up. I'll see you later, when he leaves for work," he planted a quick kiss on her beak, but was somewhat surprised by her lack of response, "What was that?"

"What?"

"Well, it felt like you were somewhere else."

"And where was I supposed to be?" Iris asked starting to get annoyed by the interrogation.

"Oh I don't know," the vulture sarcastically began, "that guy that came over for a 'visit', as you put it. You've been acting strange ever since... Who was that anyway?"

"Who, Alexander? He was my ex, I mean, _is_ my ex."

"And what, he came begging for you to come back? Pfft, pathetic. No wonder you broke up with him."

The raven just rubbed her wing without replying.

"So like I said, gotta fly, see ya."

Iris watched him disappear in the distance. She then rubbed her temples, "Why did he have to leave his terrarium? What am I supposed to do now?" the list of options was short, or at least it will be once she comes up with some. Her shoulders slumped, "I guess the only thing I _can_ do is hand in a request for a reassignment." She took off, heading back to the zoo, in no particular hurry.

* * *

><p>The Monday morning rush went on without a hitch, well, except for the landing Private screwed up on one of their numbers, but other than that it all went smooth for the penguins. Meanwhile, the ducklings stayed inside their HQ. They had promised their chicksitters to be on their best behavior and in return, they would get to visit their mother <em>before<em> closing time.

The last scheduled school group for the morning left at around noon, and since everyone else was most likely on lunch break, the quartet of penguins, each ridden by a yellow duckling, slid off into the direction of the reptile house. Once there it was just a short trip to get into the water monitor habitat's lower level.

"Oh Marilynn, look who came over for a visit?" Private called while walking down the hall. The ducklings ran forward, looking into each side room, until finally reaching the infirmary.

There they all began calling their mother's name and hugging her while she lay on her bed. The female duck ignored the pain touching her abdomen caused, she was just happy to see her children again. The penguins peered through the open door and decided to give the happy family some alone time.

"So, how much time do we have?" skipper asked.

"37,8 minutes, give or take 12 seconds," Kowalski answered.

Alexander came walking down the hall, carrying a tray, and was surprised by his guests, "What are you doing here? I don't want you getting into trouble."

"We just brought Eggy and his siblings over to visit their mommy," Private answered.

"Oh, well that's nice of you. Knowing that you did good is always the greatest reward because it feeds the soul," the penguins couldn't quite muster up a response for that. "So anyway, it's lunch time and I'm taking this to Marilyn." On the trey was a plate of sardines, a bowl of almonds and a glass of milk, "It deviates from a duck's diet, I know, but it's for her own good. I hope she likes it."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate you trying," Skipper replied.

**I hate writing chapters that are just there so the rest of the story stays connected. Hope you liked it and review!**


	6. Fresh Blood

**6 – Fresh Blood**

**So this is how writing feels like, almost forgot. This chapter definitely isn't something you'd expect from someone who's been absent for as long as myself. Still, I hope you will enjoy it.**

Marlene took a break at around lunch time, just like everyone else, she needed it. Her joints released disturbing cracking noises when she stretched her limbs. "Maybe I'm getting a little too old for this," she commented, "...yeah, right."

Following the humans' example, she entered her cave and headed towards the refrigerator where she took a couple of clams. She sat down on her rock bed and crushed the shells with her teeth revealing the delicious soft meat inside. With the empty shells spread on her belly she placed her paws underneath her head and let her eyelids close. "That hit the spot," she mumbled as she slowly felt herself drifting off.

"MARLENE!"

The otter fell out of her bed with her eyes wide open. "Skipper, please knock the next time you… " she stooped once she realized standing in front of her wasn't her boyfriend, but her tenant, so to speak. "Oh, Iris, sorry. Force of habit," she said scratching the back of her head but quickly replaced her embarrassed look with her usual cheerful smile, "So what can I do you for?"

The raven looked a little uneasy, "I…'ve got… love trouble."

Marlene rolled her eyes.

* * *

><p>After about an hour the ducklings began saying their goodbyes, it wasn't easy but they were reassured by the fact that they could return again once the zoo closes.<p>

"Nice kids you have there, Miss, I could just eat them up… metaphorically speaking, of course," Alexander quickly added. He slowly turned towards the duck, with a worried look, awaiting some harsh words from her.

Marilynn chuckled, "Oh don't be silly, I knew that." She continued laughing lightly trying not to strain her diaphragm, while the water monitor did a few forced chuckles himself.

"Anyway, I have to go up to my "display window". There are people paying to see me not move in there. There are some pain meds on the table right next to you but don't take too many, they can lead to a psychological addiction. And that, considering the children you have to look over, would be bad for both parties involved. I would happily…"

"Please stop it, darling," the duck interrupted, "Nothing bad will happen so just relax and go do whatever you need to do, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? I mean, you're stable now but what if you get a heart attack or stroke? Or maybe someone somewhere mixed up the pill and what I've really been giving you is some sort of poison?" Alexander asked in panic.

"Do you think it's possible?"

"Well… no, I think the modern medical system doesn't allow the room for such mishaps to happen."

"So?"

She had a point. Considering all the facts his fear had no foundations anymore. However, "I… I just don't want any more deaths on my shoulders."

Marilynn blinked at that last reply, "Excuse me?"

"I've done some things I regret. Or at least, _now_ I do. I preformed a surgery on myself to fix some… minor defects. I thought I'd be easier to tolerate and maybe enjoy life rather than just put up with it. The surgery was a success but then reality came crushing down on me. All the guilt, remorse, pain… I finally felt it… and it felt… bad." Alexander sighed, "Everything's just gone downhill from there. I failed a girl that liked me and put friends in a difficult position."

There was a moment of silence between the two, mostly because the mother duck needed to think of a response or some advice. "Well… why did you decide to, uh, change?" she asked.

Wasn't she paying attention? Didn't he just tell her? Or maybe she was referring to the actual decision. Was it for his friends? No, he was too selfish for something like that. Was it for Iris? Doubtful, considering the entire relationship was built upon affection from her side alone. So that just left him with himself. "I guess it was a completely selfish decision. I did it so I could… feel bad about _what_ I did?" he asked, slightly confused, "Why would I want to hurt myself? That doesn't make sense."

"Maybe because you made others feel bad and it's just normal."

"But I'm not normal and I always considered that my greatest asset," he realized he just used the present form of the verb "be".

"Then I guess nothing's changed. No operation can truly remove who you really are. All the things you call defects are what makes you special."

The water monitor smirked, "Thanks, by the way, are you shrink or something?"

Marilynn smiled, "No, just an understanding mother."

"Well, thanks again. You really helped a lot. Looks like the rest's up to me," he left the room and headed for his exhibit.

* * *

><p>Time seemed to drag its sorry ass at a snail's pace today… then again, it was Monday. Still, you can only watch so much TV before you get, "BORED!" cried Bradley and fell back into a lying position.<p>

"But we can't be bored already, it's our first day here and we are yet to watch the last of the Shirtless Ninja Action Theater episodes," Ramona, whined.

"They're just reruns anyway. We should do something fun instead," Samuel suggested.

"Excellent idea; we'll need 4 doom buggies, a map of the city and about 200 road blocks. I assure you, this will be the best race ever," Eggy pronounced confidently.

"Um… but we don't know how to drive."

"Oh… then I guess we should just do some of Skippah's work for him while he's busy entertaining the visitors."

"Yeah!" the remaining three ducklings cheered at the same time.

"Terrific, now I think it's obvious I should take the role of the leader so I'll be needing a secretary."

"I think Skipper refers to Kowalski as his options guy."

"Thank you for volunteering, Ramona."

Eggy's sister shot him a slight glare before he could continue, "Bradley, you'll be in charge of supplies. You should probably stock up in Kowalski's lab."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Ah… one of the mysteries of life… soon, it'll no longer be a mystery to you, my brother," Eggy put a wing on his shoulder.

"But…"

"And last I'll need someone like Private; a sissy all around guy," the baby duck thought about it for a second, "You know what, I think we'd be better off with a combat medic; Samuel, what's your medical knowledge."

"Uh, kissing booboos doesn't really make them feel any better," he said shrugging.

Eggy scratched his bottom beak, "That's good but not good enough. You'll need to study up on it if you want to do your part. Now, I'm giving each of you an hour to prepare and in the mean time, I'll do some research of my own. Is that clear?"

"Sure… yup… you got it," they replied halfheartedly.

"We'll have to work on that."

**I think you can call this a bite sized chapter. Hope you liked it and review!**


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